Uterine Fibroids Treatment, Signs, and Potential Causes

Uterine fibroids, also known as myomas, are benign (noncancerous) growths of the uterus that usually appear during childbearing years. They don’t increase the risk of developing cancer, and they rarely progress into uterine cancer.

Although uterine fibroids aren’t dangerous, they can cause discomfort and lead to complications such as anemia or infertility. To avoid complications resulting from myomas, it’s essential to start your treatments on time. Apart from medications and surgeries that help solve this issue, acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and certain lifestyle modifications deliver significant results without using drugs or undergoing surgical procedures.

Many women aren’t aware of uterine fibroids since they often cause no symptoms. Still, it is vital to maintain your health and prevent inconveniences that can be provoked by this issue. The following article will focus on uterine fibroids treatment, causes, and symptoms that may indicate their presence.

Makari Wellness: The Most Comprehensive Treatment of Uterine Fibroids Symptoms

We have successfully helped many overcome difficult cycles and avoid surgical intervention. The generally accepted size limit is 10cm, we generally hold that fibroids larger than this need intervention. With our help, many have solved the recurrence of fibroid formation and gained a better quality of life in many aspects.

We at Makari Wellness combine the most advanced treatment options from conventional and traditional medicine to deliver the best results to women with uterine fibroids. Our goal is not to treat your symptoms but to strengthen the foundation of your overall health and encourage your organism to promote self-healing abilities and experience long-term improvements.

We use acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and nutrition to treat even the most complex conditions that Western medicine cannot always manage with success. The powerful combination of these methods promotes physical and mental health and allows you to seize the day with no pressure or pain.

Book your appointment at (888) 871-8889 and start your uterine fibroids natural treatment now.

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What are Uterine Fibroids?

Uterine fibroids are muscular tumors that grow on the uterus. They are often benign, meaning that they rarely develop into cancer. Fibroids may vary in size – they may form the small ones, undetectable by the human eye, or bulky masses that can enlarge the uterus.

You may have a single myoma or develop multiple ones. Multiple fibroids are potentially dangerous since they can expand the uterus so much that it reaches the rib cage, adding weight.

Types of Uterine Fibroids

There are four types of uterine fibroids, and they are classified by their location in or on the uterus:

  • Intramural fibroids: They are the most common type of fibroid, and they appear within the muscular wall of the uterus. They can grow larger and stretch your womb.
  • Subserosal fibroids: They form outside of your uterus (serosa), and they can grow large enough to make the uterus looks bigger on one side.
  • Pedunculated fibroids: When subserosal tumors develop a stem base that supports the tumor, they are called pedunculated fibroids.
  • Submucosal fibroids: They develop in the middle of your uterus’s muscle layer, and they are not as common as the previously mentioned types.

Symptoms of Uterine Fibroids

Many women with fibroids have no symptoms. Those that have may feel different signs depending on the locations, size, and number of fibroids – for example:

  • Heavy menstrual bleeding
  • Periods lasting more than a week
  • Pelvic pain or pressure
  • Frequent urination
  • Difficulties emptying the bladder
  • Constipation
  • Leg pain or backache.

Although it rarely happens, fibroids can cause acute pain when they outgrow their blood supply and begin to die.

What Causes Uterine Fibroids?

Fibroid causes are mostly unknown, but recent research highlights the following factors:

  • Genetics: Fibroids often contain changes in genes that differ from those in normal uterine cells.
  • Estrogen and progesterone: These two hormones stimulate the uterine lining development during each menstrual cycle, promoting the fibroid’s growth.
  • Extracellular matrix (ECM): ECM is the material that makes cells stick together. Since it can store other growth factors, it can cause biological changes in the cells.
  • Other growth factors: Sometimes, substances such as insulin-like growth factors can cause fibroids.

What Causes Uterine Fibroids to Grow?

Estrogen and progesterone are the two hormones that tend to promote the growth of fibroids. Fibroids contain higher amounts of estrogen and progesterone receptors than normal uterine cells do, and they tend to shrink after menopause due to hormone production decrease.

MORE TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM) HEALTH BENEFITS:

What is the Best Uterine Fibroids Treatment?

Once you’ve been diagnosed with uterine fibroids, which is usually done by ultrasound and MRI, you will get treatment recommendations based on your fibroid type, size, and the location where it appeared.

Most treatments start with medications that regulate your menstrual cycle and improve heavy menstrual bleeding and pelvic pain. They cannot eliminate fibroids, but they may shrink them.

When fibroids cause complications, different surgical procedures seem like the best solution. Most of them include removing the fibroids while leaving the uterus intact. However, there’s always a risk that new fibroids could grow and cause inconveniences.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for Uterine Fibroids

Chinese medicine for fibroids could be one of the best solutions that deliver long-lasting results. Based on a holistic approach, which combines different methods to address one’s general health, TCM sets the foundation of a healthy and balanced life.

TCM has been widely used for treating different conditions associated with the nervous, reproductive, and endocrine systems, as well as an array of eye conditions considered incurable by Western medicine. This alternative medicine branch has also provided significant outcomes in treating uterine fibroids, endometriosis, PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), hormone imbalances, and other gynecological problems.

The most commonly used TCM approaches for fibroids are acupuncture, herbal therapies, and proper nutrition, which is the key to a healthy and balanced life.

Acupuncture for Uterine Fibroids

Acupuncture is based on the concept of qi, which refers to energy, life force, or function. Most health issues result from qi stagnation, which can be identified and treated by means of Eastern medicine.

The main goal of acupuncture is to manipulate qi’s flow in our bodies to provide a therapeutic effect and retrieve the lost balance. Acupuncture for fibroids involves using small, thin, and sterile needles to stimulate specific points (acupoints) on the patient’s body. By addressing these particular areas, acupuncture reduces pain, pressure, and other common signs of uterine fibroids.

Acupuncture is beneficial for uterine fibroids since it tonifies the spleen and resolves dampness, making the tumor shrink and become significantly smaller. To provide more viable and long-lasting results, a licensed acupuncturist uses herbal formulae as a complementary treatment that enhances the acupuncture’s overall effect.

Herbs for Uterine Fibroids

Herbal remedies are a highly recommended uterine fibroids treatment. They are safe, drug-free, and come with fewer side effects than pharmaceuticals. Still, you shouldn’t take them without consulting a certified Chinese herbalist, who’ll prescribe an adequate formula based on your symptoms and underlying condition that provokes them.

Chinese herbs for fibroids are pretty versatile, which makes them convenient for treating different types of health problems, including:

A Chinese herbalist will create a unique formula and recommend a proper daily dosage to encourage fibroid shrinking, reduce pelvic pain and pressure, and reduce menstrual bleeding. Still, here is one of the most popular formulas that will keep your uterus healthy:

  • Ramulus cinnamomi (Gui Zhi): Gui Zhi is widely used in TCM to promote muscle relaxation. It warms and unblocks the channels, warms yang, and calms and directs qi downward.
  • Poria mushroom: This fungus has been used for anxiety, fatigue, nervousness, urination problems, and other fibroid-provoked symptoms. It also has potent anti-inflammatory effects.
  • Semen Persicae: This Chinese drug promotes bowel relaxation, which is excellent for constipation caused by uterine fibroids.
  • Radix Paeoniae Rubra (Chi Shao): It has potent anti-tumor effects convenient for treating fibroids.
  • Radix Paeoniae Alba (Bai-Shao): Apart from being used for inflammatory diseases, Bai-Shao has proven its efficiency in managing gynecological disorders and pain.
  • Moutan Cortex (Mu Dan Pi): Thanks to its cleansing and purifying properties, Mu Dan Pi activates blood and resolves stasis, which is why it’s an excellent option for treating irregular menstruation, amenorrhea, etc.

Other herbs you can use to reduce the size and number of uterine fibroids are green tea, chasteberry, senna, and castor oil.

Proper Nutrition for Uterine Fibroids

Clinical studies conducted in China show that obesity increases the risk of uterine fibroids since fat cells encourage estrogen production. Therefore, losing weight and sticking to a healthier diet may lower the risk of developing fibroids or reduce their size.

A certified TCM practitioner will encourage you to change those lifestyle habits that might negatively influence your health – poor diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol, stress, and other lousy factors that impact fibroid development.

Here is the list of foods you should avoid:

  • White flour (and the products that contain it)
  • Sugary drinks, such as soda
  • Corn syrup
  • Boxed cereals
  • Baked goods, such as cakes, cookies, etc.
  • Potato chips, crackers, and refined carbs in general.

Refined carbs and sugary foods can trigger the onset of fibroids or worsen their current stage. Since these products raise blood sugar levels, causing your body to produce too much insulin hormone, they often cause obesity and excess weight.

On the other hand, the foods that you should add to your diet are the following:

  • Raw and cooked fruit and vegetables
  • Dried fruit
  • Whole grains, including whole-grain bread and pasta
  • Brown rice
  • Beans and lentils
  • Quinoa
  • Fresh and dried herbs.

Foods rich in vitamins, minerals, fibers, and nutrients help reduce inflammation and decrease the risk of fibroids. Ensure your diet is high in vitamins B-1, B-6, E, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, tuna, etc.) since they may help alleviate signs of uterine fibroids.

Besides nutrition, make sure you exercise at least 3 times a week. Activities such as yoga, meditation, jogging, etc., will keep you physically active and prevent the onset of different conditions.

Can Uterine Fibroids Cause Infertility?

Many women with uterine fibroids are afraid of the impossibility of getting pregnant due to this uterine disorder. Luckily, most of them can conceive without problems. However, any fertility problem should be evaluated by a fertility specialist who will determine an adequate treatment plan.

Sometimes, fibroids can reduce fertility, causing the following difficulties:

  • Change in the cervix shape that affects the number of sperm that can enter the uterus
  • Change in the uterus shape that may interfere with the movement of the sperm or embryo.
  • Fibroids blocking fallopian tubes
  • Affected blood flow to the uterine cavity, decreasing the ability of an embryo to stick to the uterine wall or to develop.

Getting Pregnant with Fibroids

From 2% to 12% of pregnant women have fibroids, which often cause no problems. Sometimes, they can worsen or get larger during pregnancy. The biggest concerns regarding fibroids are whether they will increase the risk of preterm birth or miscarriage, a cesarean delivery (C-section), or affect the breech position.

It is essential not to give up your fibroid treatments when trying to get pregnant. Although they rarely cause infertility, your chances of conceiving naturally are significantly higher when everything is under control.

In most cases, other factors are those that affect fertility. Book your appointment with the best fertility specialist in San Diego and begin your journey to better health.